Door Clicking. When in Moscow.

It has been wayyyy to long since I last posted. In fact I have visited so many different destinations since I started writing about my time as cabin crew.

I have been awful at blogging since i've started flying, which is ironic as I finally have so much to write about! I am finally going to make sure I keep this up to date. Posting about my trips, and life in general as crew.

Right Now I am lying in in bed in my hotel room, a tummy full of buffet breakfast- which I somehow managed to get in the executive lounge as the staff made a mistake (I wondered why people were drinking champers, dammit)

I am ashamed to admit that I will not be venturing out at all on this layover in Moscow, Russia. One thing as cabin crew that I hate is when people get to the hotel, run straight to their room only to shut the door and not come out until the end of the layover, only to hibernate the whole time.

The only time I make an exception for these people is when they may have visited the destination on many occasions, if you're ill then of course you need to rest, or when you simply hate the destination you have travelled to.

So yup, right now my excuse is.. I have hardly any money- after being off work for two and half months with a hairline crack in my hip (not fun), its bloody freezing in Moscow, and lastly I have been before. So I am using this trip as time to recuperate and recover from an extremely busy month of flying.

The rest of my day will consist of staying as cosy and warm as possible inside, heading to the gym for a couple of hours and going straight back to my room for a power nap before my night flight back home to Dubai.

 My Moscow Experience

      Red Square- (Krsnaya ploschchad) 

Such a breathtaking space, full of amazing buildings. beautiful architecture, people from all walks of life and filled with history.
In the square you will find St Basil's Cathedral, the state historical museum, the GUM shopping center, the Kremlin Wall and the Lenin Tomb.

St Basil's Cathedral  

When I first saw St Basil's I was stunned, it looks a little like something from Disney, it reminded me of a fairytale palace. I visited it the cathedral at night time and although I was freezing myself to death it was so worth it. The photos really don't do it justice. I haven't seen it during the day but I get the feeling that if you go when it's darker it's better as the lights make the colours pop out, its so vibrant and beautiful. I din't go inside, although I know you can pay to do that. However its still amazing to just see it from the outside. This for me was the highlight of my trip.

Borsch

Of course every layover includes trying out the local cuisine. So I decided to go for some 'borsch'. originally a Ukranian soup traditonally made with primarily beetroot and a common dish in Russia.

ANNNND no layover is complete without a 'crewfie' 

Moscow was an experience, I kind of felt like I was in a time warp and I could still very much feel the fact it was a communist country. I'm glad I went out on my first layover however for now I am quite happy just chilling for once and doing absolutely zero.

Lotsa Love,

Rosie

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#CabinCrewProblems

So i’m sure some of you who follow me on instagram or are friends with me on facebook and actually care/pay attention to what I post realise the struggle is real sometimes. When I say the struggle I’m relating to some of the day to day problems pretty much most cabin crew face working in this industry.

1.         Sleep... not enough of it, can’t sleep, too much sleep.. just sleep! Travelling through different time zones and working at odd/unsociable hours makes your sleeping pattern so messed up. My boyfriend calls me a fidget and wriggler because often I can’t sleep throughout the night and find myself up and about several times, sometimes even doing the washing and tidying at ridiculous o’clock in the morning.

2.     Maintaining a normal social life. I have a great social life... when I have the days off at the same time as my friends at least. You find yourself constantly stalking your friends rosters to see and plan when you can all next hang out.

3.       Relationships. Some people find it hard to hold down a relationship in this job, especially if your boo is in another country, now that’s tough. But often even if your other half lives here in Dubai it can still be hard. If you date crew you both may not see each other for a month, depending on what your rosters like. I personally am happy that I’m not with crew, however it is a bit frustrating when my days off only ever seem to be in the week and so seeing my boyfriend is after he finishes work and when he has the weekend off I may well be away flying.. This job can make spending quality time with your partner hard. For example I did an 8 day trip and I really missed my man but having said that it makes the time you spend together so much more special.

4.     Grooming... Not that I haven’t always been well groomed, of course I have! But you have to make sure your nails are perfectly manicured all the time with a minimum of clear nail polish, your hair has to be tidy and up to standards- no hair die/highlights etc... It can get tiring sometimes and I really want ombre hair right now.. see #cabincrewproblems

5.       Health- there’s no doubt about it your health will suffer. Lack of sleep, being exposed to the sun, radiation and working at high altitudes in a dry environment does wonders for your health... just kidding. I have never felt so unhealthy in my life, I suffer from psoriasis as it is and since moving to Dubai and working it has got so much worse, no amount of cream helps. My fitness regime has suffered big time, back in the UK I was working out near enough every day and felt great, now I am lucky if I get three workouts in a week. Someday’s youre flying all day and get to a destination and just collapse in the hotel bed, or you go straight out to explore and maximise the 24 hours you get in that place (if its a 24 hour layover).

6.      Reputation.. For some reason we as cabin crew have a reputation for being somewhat ‘loose’, it really annoys me because actually not all of us are like that. It can be applied to anyone in any career, I think it’s just because there’s a lot of us. But yeah not all of us are wild sexual animals who sleep with anyone and everyone around the world.

7.      Tights, pantyhose, stockings.. whatever you want to call them. Laddered tights is the bane of my life.

8.         Memory. In this job for some reason your memory seems to suffer big time. The amount of times i’ve arrived back into Dubai seen a friend and they’ve asked me where i’ve just come from and I cannot even remember. Goodness knows why but sometimes you just can’t think straight.

9.       Drinking. Often you just need a good stiff drink (or five) after a tough flight. Working in the hospitality industry can drive you to this... especially when you’re stuck with passengers for 15-16 hours on a busy US flight.

 10.       Not really having a proper ‘base’.  Although Dubai is meant to be our ‘base’ I can honestly say I don’t know where my real base is, I spend more time travelling and in other countries than I do in Dubai. On average I roughly spend 8 days in Dubai each month. Don’t get me wrong I love travelling and working but sometimes you just want to be on ground for a few days to sort shit out.